Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Maxed Out
    Maxed Out
    Maxed Out
    Ebook74 pages42 minutes

    Maxed Out

    By Daphne Greer

    5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Twelve-year-old Max just wants to play hockey.

    But ever since his dad died, Max's mom has been struggling. Now Max has to take his brother, Duncan, who is autistic, with him wherever he goes. Max's team is counting on him to help them win the upcoming playoff game against the Red Eagles, but one practice makes it clear that it's not safe to leave his brother unattended on the sidelines. With only a week to figure out how he can play in the big game, Max is feeling the pressure. Will he find a way to be a good teammate, a good brother and a good son, or is it all too much for one kid?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOrca Book Publishers
    Release dateMar 1, 2012
    ISBN9781554699841
    Maxed Out
    Author

    Daphne Greer

    Daphne Greer is the author of Maxed Out, a 2013 YALSA Quick Picks nominee, and Jacob's Landing, which was a 2016 Hackmatack and 2016 Silver Birch finalist and was on the Best Books for Kids & Teens list from the Canadian Children's Book Centre. Daphne lives in Newport, Nova Scotia. For more information, visit www.daphnegreer.com.

    Related to Maxed Out

    Related ebooks

    Children's Family For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Space Between Us

      Oct 9, 2019

      The Space Between Us
      8 min read

    • Article

      Sideways Infinity

      Jan 1, 2024

      Sideways Infinity
      4 min read

    • Article

      After “The End”

      Oct 10, 2022

      I walked down the road with a hunched back and a wet cigarette in my mouth—the fire had died a while back. My hands were tucked into the pockets of my jacket, and my hair fell over my face, limiting my sight. But I wasn’t really seeing where I was go

      10 min read

    • Article

      How to Buy a Used Car During a Wildfire

      Jan 14, 2019

      I do not laugh but the children do. “I hate these fucking places,” I think again, turning the radio back on. The post How to Buy a Used Car During a Wildfire appeared first on The Millions.

      12 min read

    • Article

      Wilding

      Nov 3, 2022

      Wilding
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Problem with My Dachshund

      Dec 11, 2019

      The Problem with My Dachshund
      10 min read

    • Article

      A Last Look Around

      Dec 4, 2020

      A Last Look Around
      5 min read

    • Article

      Guests

      Jun 15, 2019

      The month after our mother died, our father began bringing women home. It felt like a behind-her-back kind of operation. “I’m going to have a guest over tonight,” is what he would say. David and I stayed out in the living room, turned up cartoons, bu

      11 min read

    • Article

      The Face I’ll Never Forget

      Jun 25, 2022

      The Face I’ll Never Forget
      3 min read

    • Article

      Counter Waves

      Oct 23, 2020

      Counter Waves
      8 min read

    • Article

      OK

      Jul 7, 2022

      OK
      3 min read

    • Article

      OK

      Jul 7, 2022

      OK
      3 min read

    • Article

      A Mother’s Love

      Apr 23, 2020

      A Mother’s Love
      2 min read

    • Article

      Night Light

      Oct 25, 2019

      Night Light
      3 min read

    • Article

      Two Men, Mary

      Dec 5, 2023

      My first job was at a frozen yogurt shop called TCBY. This was 1987, in Tucson. The shop was on Speedway Boulevard, in a strip mall between two car washes—the first TCBY franchise in the city, though within a year there would be two more, plus a Greg

      24 min read

    • Article

      Kıds & Angles

      Jun 24, 2023

      Kıds & Angles
      4 min read

    • Article

      Shanda

      Jan 1, 2024

      Shanda
      13 min read

    • Article

      Advent ANGEL

      Nov 8, 2023

      Advent ANGEL
      6 min read

    • Article

      What the Tornado Gave Us

      May 1, 2022

      OF ALL THAT I lost when we moved to America, my personality is what I missed most. Not lost in a forever kind of way, perhaps just misplaced, because after I had a friend, it began to show up again. In Mexico, I knew the language well enough to easil

      3 min read

    • Article

      Fly Off Into The Light

      Aug 14, 2020

      Fly Off Into The Light
      3 min read

    • Article

      Till We Meet Again

      Aug 27, 2020

      Till We Meet Again
      4 min read

    • Article

      FotoQuick

      Mar 1, 2023

      FotoQuick
      12 min read

    • Article

      Strange Season

      Jun 4, 2020

      Strange Season
      14 min read

    • Article

      Cricket League

      Jan 1, 2022

      It was an unusual birthday. Colorful banners blanketed the backyard. Kids chased each other through the grass. Adults talked. It all went downhill from there. My little sister was turning five. On her birthday cake, painted in frosting, was a fat, pi

      7 min read

    • Article

      A new START

      Aug 19, 2020

      A new START
      3 min read

    • Article

      Love & Care

      Nov 26, 2019

      Love & Care
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Maxed Out

    5/5

    1 rating1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Such a great story! Daphne Greer gives a great voice to her young hero, Max, but it's his special needs brother, Duncan, who steals the show with his astute observations and hilarious comments. A heartwarming and funny book!

    Book preview

    Maxed Out - Daphne Greer

    Chapter One

    The sound of the back door banging against the side of the house pounds in my ears. Maybe I am only hearing my heart beating in my chest as I pick up my pace. I trudge up the driveway with my sleeping bag hanging over my shoulder. I kick snow away from the step.

    Mom! I yell. I’m home.

    The house is quiet. I dump my backpack on the floor and flick my boots off. The cold air has made a home in the kitchen. I can see my breath. Dishes are piled in the sink, and breakfast stuff is still all over the counter. When I walk down the hall, I glance into the living room. It looks like time has stopped. Mom doesn’t go in there much anymore. It used to be her favorite place.

    At the bottom of the stairs, I stop to listen. I’m relieved when I hear Duncan talking to himself in his room. It sounds like he is acting out all the characters in a movie. When I reach the landing, I notice Mom’s bedroom door is closed.

    I take a deep breath and knock. Mom?

    I can hear her stirring, so I open the door. She is lying in bed with heaps of blankets piled all over her. Oh, Max. You’re home. I didn’t hear you come in. She tries to sit up, but she only gets as far as propping herself onto her elbows before she flops back down. She pulls the blankets up to her neck. It’s freezing in here. Can you check the heat? She yawns and then says, What time is it?

    I don’t know. Probably close to four. The bus was a little late.

    "Did you say four? That can’t be right! I only laid down for a few minutes. Oh, I can’t believe it! She looks like she’s about to cry. I have to work tonight, and I feel like a truck hit me."

    I’ll go check the heat, I say. I don’t bother telling her that the back door was wide open or that I had a great time at the school winter-survival trip at Big Cove Camp. I don’t tell her about making banana boats around the campfire, like we used to do with Dad, or how we stayed up late telling ghost stories. No one wanted to go home—especially me.

    The next morning I’m in a rush. I’m still not used to having to do everything by myself.

    Duncan! I yell up the stairs. Turn off the TV. We’re going to be late! I wait at the the bottom of the stairs for a few more minutes. Duncan is deep into one of his movies. I shake my head and walk back toward the kitchen. The sun floods in through the window, making it really warm.

    Duncan eventually shuffles into the kitchen with his Spider-Man T-shirt on backward and his hair sticking up. I’m not Duncan. I’m Spider-Man!

    "No one will know you’re Spider-Man with your shirt on that way," I say.

    Duncan stands perfectly still while I stand on my tiptoes to turn his shirt around. Where is Mom? he asks.

    I glance at the clock. She’s at work, I say.

    I don’t like her work, he says.

    Neither do I. Come on, we’ve got to hurry. I pour cereal into his bowl. Usually I let him do it, but we’re already late. I don’t have time for him to pour it, spill it and then pick up each piece of cereal.

    Do you wanna race? I ask.

    I’m not racing, he grumbles.

    I inhale my cereal and then start running around grabbing our stuff. When I open the back door, the cold air hits me smack in the face. Man, that’s freezing. You’re going to need a hat today, Duncan.

    I don’t want one, he mumbles.

    I hear ya. But remember your ears hurt when it’s really cold. Besides, Spider-Man wouldn’t be caught dead going out without his hat.

    Duncan shovels another mouthful of his cereal into his mouth. I can tell he is thinking about what I said. I want my hat, he says.

    I figured you would. I throw it to him. He lifts his hand at the right moment and catches it, even though he’s not looking at me. Duncan avoids eye contact at any cost. He places his hat on his head and takes two more bites of cereal.

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1